WIN a £250 prize to welcome Princess Charlotte

With the arrival of Princess Charlotte over the bank holiday weekend, we’ve been thinking about the joys and dilemmas of new parenthood, and how welcoming a new baby into the world brings with it a wealth of practical concerns that require us to change our lives in all kinds of entertaining ways…

Special delivery: welcome Princess Charlotte!

One of the biggest new parent predicaments is what to do with all the clothes, toys and accessories that babies grow out of at a baffling rate. Like all new babies, the young Princess will grow up quickly, and will no doubt leave a steady stream of Royal cast-offs in her wake.

Kate Middleton is well known for her love of ‘recycling’ outfits, so we don’t expect she’ll be in any hurry to get rid of the princess’s clothes and accessories once she grows out of them: perhaps there’ll be some lucky little ones close to the palace who’ll inherit the Royal babygros and bibs, or maybe they’ll simply be preserved for future generations to admire? And we won’t be surprised if we soon see little Charlotte playing with the toys that big bro George has grown out of.

Send some love

For those of us who don’t have a Duchess’s budget to play with, selling baby clothes and accessories on eBay is a popular option, while sending parcels full of baby goodies to friends can be a great way to give your baby’s wardrobe a second life. Even better, when those friends return the favour, you’ll get a ready-made batch of new baby gear at no cost to you. Sending bulky items such as these can quickly get expensive, but we can help your budget stretch further with competitive rates on parcels up to 10kg, and to fit in with your babys’s demanding schedule, you can drop off your items at a convenient location via our network of more than 6,000 local stores.

Win a pampering prize

To celebrate the Royal birth, we are offering you the chance to win a £200 voucher from John Lewis, along with 5 CollectPlus send labels worth £50, to help you pass on your outgrown baby items whether you want to sell, gift or donate them. All you need do to enter is:

2. Tweet at us using the hashtag #parcelofjoy and tell us your tips for passing on old baby clothes and toys. Do you sell them, gift them, donate them or something else entirely? Examples below:

@CollectPlus I’ll be sending my old baby clothes to my colleague who just went on maternity leave #parcelofjoy

@CollectPlus Here’s a pic of my son’s favourite trainers, which he inherited from a friend #parcelofjoy

Or, if you want to share the best item of clothing or toy that your child has received as a hand-me-down from a friend, you can simply post a picture with us along with the hashtag #parcelofjoy

And that’s it! We look forward to hearing your stories, and we’ll be in touch by 25th Mayto let you know if you’ve been successful.

Good luck!

1. Only open to UK residents aged 18 years or over.

2. This competition excludes CollectPlus employees, their families, agencies, or anyone professionally connected with the promotion.

3. The competition runs from 11:00 on 5th May 2015 to 18:00 on 19th May 2015

The prize:

4. There will be one prize of: £200 voucher from a well known high street retailer. No cash alternative is available and the prize is not transferable. By entering this competition, you will be deemed to have accepted these Terms & Conditions and be bound by the rules. All entry instructions form part of these Terms and Conditions. In the event of unforeseen circumstances the promoter reserve the right to offer alternative prizes of equal value.

How to enter:

5. Only one entry per Twitter or Instagram account will be accepted. Entrants may however submit two entries if they wish by entering once via Twitter AND once via Instagram.

6. To be in for a chance of winning the competition, you must be following @CollectPlus on Twitter and have responded on Twitter to the question ‘What do you do with your old baby clothes and toys?’ using the hashtag #parcelofjoy by 18:00 on 19th May 2015. Those entering via Instagram must also be following @CollectPlus on Instagram.

7. The winner will be drawn at random by 19th May 2015 and announced on Twitter at a later date. The winner will be notified that they have won the competition by direct message on Twitter or by a comment on their Instagram entry. The winner must respond within 5 days of the notification, otherwise the right to claim the prize will be lost and the promoter reserves the right to re-award the prize.

8. By taking part in this competition you agree to CollectPlus posting a public tweet or Instagram message stating the competition winner’s name.

9. The promoter reserves the right to amend, alter or terminate this competition at any time due to circumstances beyond its control. The promoter’s decision is binding in all matters.

10. The winners’ details (name and county) will be made available on request to those enclosing a stamped self-addressed envelope to CollectPlus, 49 Clarendon Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 1DU.

11. The promoter can accept no responsibility for, and reserves the right to refuse, entries which are corrupt, incomplete or fail to arrive by the closing date and time.

13. These rules are governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

DATA PROTECTION: All the personal information that is taken during this competition will only be used in connection with the administration of the competition and will not be passed on to an outside company without permission.